The 2016 Defence White Paper, the Naval Shipbuilding Plan, and associated statements by political figures such as Prime Minister Turnbull and Defence Industry Minister Pyne have all advocated the need for enhanced anti-submarine warfare (ASW) …

The Australian Department of Defence has a continuing attraction for the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) office. The attraction can readily be seen in the ongoing trend towards an ever-increasing commitment of the defence budget …

We need to consider the future position of ASC. The recent announcements on submarines and naval shipbuilding have resulted in a marked increase in the clamour around a potential sale of the Adelaide-based naval constructor. …

In a joint statement on 4 August 2015, Tony Abbott and Kevin Andrews (then respectively Prime Minister and Defence Minister) committed to a continuous build of warships in Australia, stating: ‘It’s the first time that …

A significant amount has been written about the looming defence maritime mega projects—SEA 1000 (Future Submarine) and SEA 5000 (Future Frigate). Each of these projects has been subjected to intense scrutiny due to the Abbott …

From an inauspicious and somewhat controversial start, the CEP has leapt into pride of place as the ‘process of choice’ for the Government when considering large maritime defence projects. Not only has it been used …

Much has been made of the recent release of the report by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) into the emerging era of undersea warfare. The wide coverage that the report received in …

Recent discussions on naval shipbuilding have highlighted the importance of a vibrant and innovative defence industry for both strategic and economic security reasons. Prior experience with building the Anzac- frigates shows that Australia can build …

The Future Submarine (FSM) project has been the subject of significant commentary over recent months, leading to the statement by Defence Minister Andrews on 20 February on the structure and conduct of the competitive evaluation …

A soap opera typically has a number of common features: forced characters, somewhat unbelievable; a plot in which dramatic events occur frequently but the story itself doesn’t reach any sort of conclusion; a familiar setting …

There’s been a wave of recent media and political commentary about the future submarine. The debate has tended to slide around the central question of whether or not to build them in Australia, and to …